US STEEL

Today, United States Steel Corporation President and CEO Mario Longhi joined fellow steel industry executives and Leo Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers, in pressing Congress to maintain America’s economic and national security by halting unfair trade practices and enforcing the country’s trade laws. Longhi encouraged action against illegal dumping of Oil Country Tubular Goods by South Korea and others who threaten American jobs, infrastructure and our national security.
While testifying before the Congressional Steel Caucus, Longhi emphasized that the issue of fair trade is “a matter of utmost importance to our employees, our company, our industry and our country.” U.S. Steel employs more than 24,000 employees domestically and is the nation’s largest producer of tubular products headquartered in the United States. U. S. Steel’s domestic position in the tubular market makes the “alarmingly rapid and intense surge of imported OCTG (Oil Country Tubular Goods) products into the market” to be of particular concern he stated.
“OCTG products are… integral to the building and maintenance of our nation’s critical infrastructure and must meet the highest safety and quality standards,” said Longhi when discussing the importance of the tubular goods products to the country’s energy infrastructure

The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor opens its 40th shipping season on April 9 with the arrival of the first international vessel – the Iryda. For 40 years, this Great Lakes port has provided an international connection for local businesses to reach world markets. The first ship signifies the start of the shipping season, the arrival of vital materials for local business and the start of another work season for longshoremen, crane operators, truckers and businesses that depend on the port

Members of the American Great Lakes Ports Association (AGLPA) elected new leadership at their annual summer meeting held this year in Oswego, New York.
The new president is William Friedman, President & CEO of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority. Dean Haen, director of the Brown County Port & Solid Waste Department in Green Bay, will serve as vice president. The secretary-treasurer position will be held by Paul LaMarre, port director at the Port of Monroe (Michigan)

According to reports, a 20-month tariff on imported steel resulted in a loss of 9.3m tons of the metal and more than 2,000 jobs at U.S. ports, according to a new report from a maritime economics consulting firm.
The study by Martin Associates of Lancaster, Pa., commissioned by the American Institute for Imported Steel and the first to document the economic impact of the tariff, found that the trade restriction kept about 424,000 tons of steel and iron from going through U.S

It appears the battle over steel continues. In the wake of the U.S. lifting its own 20-month tarriff on steel imports late last year, China, the world's top steel importer, has reportedly placed a hefty import duties on high-grade metal used by the shipbuilding sectors, according to a Reuters report. The U.S. lifted its tarriff in the face of a potential trade war over the matter.
China reportedly implemented the new tariffs after it concluded that there was dumping of cold-rolled steel by

India said on Tuesday it may appeal against parts of a World Trade Organization ruling against countervailing U.S. duties on some of its steel exports, despite being partly vindicated in a trade dispute.
States impose countervailing duties, or punitively high import tariffs, when they suspect another country of gaining an unfair trade advantage through subsidies.
The WTO, ruling on the April 2012 case, said on Monday that the United States had acted wrongly in claiming some Indian

With global steel demand running at an unprecedented level, rapidly rising prices have been a constant headache for ship repairers, as well as ship builders, in recent months. And despite sharply higher steel output, there is little sign of any softening as the New Year dawns.
According to the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI), crude steel production for the 62 countries reporting their figures was 945m tonnes by the end of November

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that when a charter party is clearly identified in a bill of lading, it may be incorporated into the bill of lading. In the instant case, the time charter for the vessel included a clause providing for arbitration of disputes via a specific procedure. The time charterer then entered into a voyage charter for carriage of steel coils from Latvia to New Orleans. Bills of lading were then executed by the charterer and the shipper for

Willard Marine, a 56-year-old builder of composite and aluminum boats, has recently taken orders to build rescue boats for the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS), U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) and Maersk Lines Ltd.
The Willard Marine rescue boats meet all U.S. Coast Guard requirements under the international Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) treaty.
AMHS has ordered two 670 rescue boats for the M/V Columbia, which is being refitted with new safety equipment

Washington State Ferries (WSF) said that the Port Townsend-Keystone route will continue to operate on a two-boat regular schedule, despite reports that the Nisqually may be taken off the route and service reduced to one vessel. The Nisqually and the Klickitat will operate on the published summer schedule, which is available online at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/.
On Sunday, July 29, a slow leak was discovered in the stern tube (part of the vessel steering system) of the Illahee

Over 60 pct of ships scrapped on Asian beaches in 2014. Practice poses human risk, environmental dangers. New EU rules set high standards, but with loopholes.
European, Turkish and Chinese recyclers are set to benefit from strict new EU rules on breaking up old ships

Olaf Wiertz, Sales Director at Schmiedag GmbH (SDG) and Wildauer Schmiedewerke GmbH & Co. KG (WSW) said: “We are more than just a supplier to our customers – we are their partner. Our engagement and our qualification in the developments of customer oriented solutions serve

At 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officially opened the Soo Locks for the start of the 2015 Great Lakes shipping season.
The locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan are among 16 locks that form the Great Lakes St

A tool for removing oil in submerged vessels was developed in Norway by Miko Marine. Moskito is designed to address the pollution threat that exists with the large numbers of sunken ships around the world that still contain significant quantities of oil in their tanks as cargo or bunker

The U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) has announced that eight U.S. ports in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System are receiving the prestigious Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award.
The awards were given for registering increases in international cargo tonnage

Activity across Port of Houston Authority docks continues to show strength as February 2015 tonnage figures reflected a 22-percent increase compared to February 2014.
Executive Director Roger Guenther released the information today during the monthly meeting of the Port Commission of the Port

19 ships laden with petrol and other commodities are discharging at the Lagos ports, says Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in its daily publication `Shipping Position’.
Three of the ships were laden with petrol, while the others had diesel, steel products, containers, bulk salt

European, Turkish and Chinese recyclers are set to benefit from strict new EU rules on breaking up old ships, but the practice of dismantling them on beaches in South Asia at great human and environmental cost will still be hard to stop.

The U.S. Navy’s newest Amphibious Assault Ship, USS America (LHA 6) was commissioned on October 11, 2014 at Pier 30-32 in San Francisco. First in its class, the USS America does not have a well deck, unlike her previous counterparts

The world’s second-largest container manufacturer Singamas Container reported 2014 net profit which is lower than the previous year, but is expecting a better 2015 bolstered by pent-up demand from shipping lines and the firm’s investment in a gateway province between China and

Cargo worked at the Port of New Orleans’ public docks in 2014 totaled 8.37 million tons, the highest total since 2000 and up 28 percent compared to the prior 12-month period, the port reported.
Imported steel and container cargo led the growth, as imported iron and steel rose 101

The four gates for the Deurganck dock lock in the port of Antwerp will begin their journey from China at the beginning of April.
The gigantic gates are being built by the Chinese steel constructor ZPMC, together with the trolleys on which the gates will ride

The Port of Rotterdam and the independent storage company LBC Tank Terminals have reached a long term agreement for the construction of a new jetty at the LBC terminal in Botlek, Rotterdam.
‘This new jetty is the first and a very important step in the expansion of our terminal in